Process of making shoes.



K. ENGEL & L. M. BROWN.

PROCESS OF MAKING SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-31.1914.

1,181,295. Patented May 2,1916.

STALES P nnr prion.

KARL ENGEL, OF ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, AND LOUIS M. BROWN, OF BEVERLY, MASSA-GHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON,

NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Original application filed November 27, 1908, Serial No. 464,559.Divided and this application filed August 31, 1914. Serial No. 859,422.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, KARL ENGEL and LOUIS M.BROWN, citizens of the United States, residing at Arlington Heights, 111the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, and Beverly, in thecounty of Essex and State of Massachusetts, respectively, have inventedcertain Improvements in Processes of Making Shoes, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicatinglike parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to processes of making shoes, and particularly toa process of making shoes which involves stretching and shaping a shoeupper substantially tothe form which it is to have in the finished shoebefore the last is inserted in said upper.

Although the invention is herein illustrated and described in itsapplication to the shaping of shoe uppers having outturned soleattaching flanges, such as are employed in the manufacture of shoes ofthe type commonly termed stitch down, it will be ob vious that theinvention is of equal applicability to the shaping of uppers of othertypes of shoes, such, for example, as Goodyear or McKay shoes.

Owing to the rapid increase in the cost of shoe materials, andparticularly of upper leather, it is important that the stretching andshaping of a shoe upper be performed in such manner that the upper maybe cut as closely to its final size as possible before the shapingoperations, thus avoiding the waste material that is trimmed off afterthe ordinary lasting operations.

To this end the invention contemplates not only the shaping of thoseparts of a shoe which are particularly difficult to shape, but also thestretching of the upper which it is essential should be performed inorder that the upper may maintain its shape in the finished shoe.

A particular object of the invention is to perform the shapingoperations in such suc cesslon that the stretching operations will beincidental to the shaping operations.

Although the invention may be practised to some extent by hand by theuse of various well-known tools, it may be practised more advantageouslyby the use of a machine of the type shown in our co-pending applicationSer. No. 464,559, filed November 227, 1908, for Letters Patent forimprovements in machmes for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes,of which application the present application is a division. For a betterunderstanding of the invention, so much of the machine of saidco-pending application, as is necessary to illustrate the manner ofperforming the difierent steps of the process of the present inventionand the sequence of these steps, is shown in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through one of the moldingmechanisms of the ma chine of said co-pending application, showing theparts in position to receive the shoe upper; and Fig. 2 is a similarsection of the machine, showing the parts after the molding andstretching operations have been performed upon the upper, an upper beingshown in molded and stretched condition in this figure.

As hereinabove suggested, the invention comprises shaping the morediflicult parts of the shoe upper, such for example as the heel and toeends of the upper, substantially to the form which they are to have inthe finished shoe and stretching the upper before the insertion of thelast. According to the preferred manner of practising the inventionherein to be described, one end of the upper is molded to shape and thenthe other end, and after the initial molding of that end of the upperlast to be shaped the stretching of the upper is effected. Preferably,according to the present invention, the molding and stretchingoperations are performed before the attachment of a sole, either aninsole or an outsole.

much of these mechanisms is shown as is necessary for an understandingof the present invention, the machine as a whole being fully describedin the co-pending application hereinabove referred to.

The principles of operation of the heel forming mechanism and of the toeforming mechanism herein shown are substantially the same as those ofthe corresponding mechanisms disclosed in United States Letters PatentNo. 1,027,408, granted May 28, 1912, on application of Karl Engel forimprovements in machines for forming uppers of boots and shoes, and No.998,682, granted July 25, 1911 011 application of Karl Engel forimprovements in machines for forming uppers of boots and shoes,respectively.

The heel forming mechanism herein shown comprises a heel former or malemold 62, mounted upon a pin 64 projecting upwardly from the inclinedtable 66 into a socket in the former 62. Embracing this male mold is afemale mold which comprises two jaw-like members 68 which rest uponguides, not shown, upon each side of a slide 70 upon which is formed orcarried. the flange turner 118 which serves to turn out upon the femalemold a sole attachingflange upon the upper. The female mold members 68are closed upon the sides of the male mold 62 and are moved up againstthe rear end of said male mold member by mechanism shown and describedin said co-pending application, and after this molding operation theslide 70 is moved toward the rear end of the male mold member to wipeout the projecting lower edge of the upper to form the outturned flange.after which said slide is pressed up into the position shown in Fig. 2to press out the flange upon the bottom face of the female mold and overthe downwardly projecting inner edge of said mold. This pressingoperation is effected through the action upon the slide 70 oil? theplunger 131 connected to a toggle 1.36, 138 which toggle is straightenedand broken by mechanism more fully shown and described in saidco-pending application. During the movement of the slide 70 to effectthe flange turning operation, the toe forming mechanism, which, up tothis time, has been out of the way of the operator, is moved'down intoposition to act upon the upper, this mechanism comprising, as more fullysetforth in said co-pending application, two clamp members 156 and158con structed and arranged to clamp a marginal portion of the toe partof the upper of a width substantially equal to the desired width of theflange to be formed upon the said toe part of the upper, and a toeformer 184, adapted to shape the portion of the upper lying within theclamped Jportion. After'the toe end of the upper has been placed overthe former 1841 and between the clamp members 156 and 158, the edge ofthe upper being shoved against the gage member 262 to gage the width ofthe flange to be formed, the upper clamp member 158 is moved down intoclamping relation to the lower member 156 by mechanism more fullydescribed in said co-pending application, and the toe former 184 hasthen imparted to it first an upward movement to mold the upper to theshape of said former, and then a forward movement to bulge the toe endof the upper over the flange and at the same time to effect alongitudinal stretching. of the upper. The mechanism for effecting thesetwo movements ofthe toe former is fully shown and described insaidco-pending application, these movements of the former beingpermitted by its mounting upon a rod 186 adjustably carried in a slide188 which is guided for movement longitudinally of the upper in guidegrooves 190 in a slide 192 arranged to move at right angles to thedirection of movement of the slide 188.

In order to adapt the machine hereinabove described for molding andstretching shoes of different lengths, the toe forming mechanism isadjustable upon its slide 132 which is connected to the flange formerslide 70 to vary the distance apart of the heel and toe formingmechanisms after the movement of the toe forming mechanism intooperative position during the flange turning operation. The adjustmentof the toe forming mechanism to adapt it to shoes of different lengthsis effected through the following means :A slide 200, carried by theslide 132, is provided with an opening through which passes the rod 186and through which said rod moves during the movement of the toe formertransverse to the plane of the clamped portion of the upper, said slide200 being adjustably connected by a rod 202 to a toggle-actuated member204, the adjustable connections between the rod 202 and the rod20-icomprising a threaded sleeve 206 on a shouldered portion ofwhich"the*member-20a" is confined by a nut 208, said sleeve being arranged tobe turned by a gear 210 geared to the second gear 212 upon the shaft 214confined in a bearing 216 in an upstanding lug upon the slide 132. Theturning of the sleeve 206 alone serves to adjust the toe former 184 withrespect to the clamp members 156 and 158. These clamp members are,however, carried upon a third slide 220 into an upstanding portion ofwhich the shaft 214 is threaded whereby, when said shaft is turned bythe hand wheel 222, said slide 220 is adjusted upon the slide 132. Thethreads upon the shaft 214 are all of the same pitch as those upon therod 202, and the gears 210 and 212 have the same number of teeth, sothat, when the shaft 214 and the sleeve 206 are turned together, therewill be no relative adjusting movement of the toe former 184 and theclamp members 156 and 158. When it is desired to adjust the position ofthe toe former with respect to the clamping members 156 and 158, thegear 212 may be disconnected from the shaft 214 and slipped along saidshaft out of engagement with the gear 210, whereby the sleeve 206 may beturned without turning the shaft 214.

The upper having been placed in position about the former 62 and themachine having been actuated in the manner described in said co-pendingapplication, the members 68 of the female mold will be moved through theoperating connections described in said co-pending application intoclamping and shaping engagement with the upper upon the former 62. Afterthe upper has been clamped about the former 62, the slide 70 will bemoved downwardly or toward the back part of the upper to cause theflange turner 118 upon the slide 70 to engage and turn out that portionof the heel end of the upper which projects below the female mold, theslide 70 being so located with respect to said female mold as to serveas a gage to determine the width of the heel flange. When the flangeturner slide 70 has com pleted its flange turning movement and theplunger 134 has caused it to be moved into flange pressing relation tothe female mold, the operator places the toe end of the upper over thetoe former 184, which has been moved into operative relation to the heelforming mechanism during the flange turning operation, and againactuates the machine which, as described in said co-pending application,is arranged to stop at the end of the heel forming operation. Duringthis second step in the operation of the machine, the clamp 158 is movedinto clamping relation to the clamp member 156 and the toe former 184 ismoved upwardly and then forwardly, thus shaping the toe end of the upperand then stretching the whole upper which is held against forwardmovement by reason of its having its end confined in the heel formingmechanism. This position of the parts of the toe and heel formingmechanisms is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings and an upper isshown in this figure in molded and stretched condition in the machine.

Having described our invention, what We claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. That improvement inthe art of making shoes which consists in molding to shape the heel andtoe ends of a shoe upper off the last and stretching the upper beforethe attachment of a sole.

2. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in moldingto shape the heel and toe ends of a shoe upper and stretching said upperlongitudinally before the attachment of a sole.

3. That improvement in the art of making shoes which comprises moldingto shape the heel and toe ends of a shoe upper and then stretching saidupper.

4. That improvement in the art of making shoes which comprises moldingto shape the heel and toe ends of a shoe upper and then stretching saidupper longitudinally.

5. That improvement in the art of making shoes which comprises shapingone end of a shoe upper substantially to the shape which it is to havein the finished shoe, then shaping the other end of the shoe uppersubstantially to the shape which it is to have in the finished shoe, andas said second shaping operation is completing, stretching said upperlongitudinally.

6. That improvement in the, art of making shoes which comprisesconfining the heel end of a shoe upper and then forming in the toe end.of said upper a toe in such manner that a longitudinal stretch is givento said upper.

7. That improvement in the art of makf ing shoes which comprisesconfining the heel end of a shoe upper, then confining a marginalportion of the toe end of said upper and forming in the unconfinedportion of said toe end a toe in such manner that a longitudinal stretchis given to said upper.

8. That improvement in the art of making shoes which comprises confiningthe heel end of a shoe upper and while it is confined forming thereon anoutturned flange and then confining the marginal portion of the toe endof said upper and while both the heel. end and the marginal portion ofthe toe end are thus confined forming a toe on the unconfined portion ofthe toe end of the upper.

9. That improvement in the art of making shoes \vhlch comprisesconfining the heel end of a shoe upper and While it is thus con- EN EL,haversignedymy name tothis specificatlon ,111 the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

KARL ENGEL. Witnesses CHARLES NV. COOPER, ALBERT A, SMITH. In testimonywhereof I, thesaid LOUIS M. BROWN, have signed my name tothisvspecification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LOUIS M. BRONN. lVitnesses CHARLES E. GRUsH, ELMER B. GRUsH.

Gopiee at this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Iztente, Washington. .D. G.

